Amnesty Calls for Restraint Before May Day

From a press statement issued by Amnesty International:

On the eve of planned May Day demonstrations in many Turkish cities, Amnesty International calls upon the Turkish authorities to ensure that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is respected and that law enforcement officers use force only where strictly necessary and only to the extent required to perform their duties.

In a letter to the Minister of the Interior Mr Besir Atalay, Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at the human rights organization, said:

"The right to hold peaceful demonstrations is protected by the right of peaceful assembly in international human rights legislation. Any limitations placed on this right must only be those which are prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society for the protection of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

I am leaving for Spain tonight, and am told that it is possible that some of the demonstrators will be bused to İzmit. We will see what happens. . .